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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 















































CHOP-CHIN 

AND 


THE GOLDEN DRAGON 












At last the Emperor began to dream. He heard an awful voice, the voice 
of the Golden Dragon. “ Wah-song ! Wah-song! Awake! ” 







































































































CHOP-CHIN 

AND 

THE GOLDEN DRAGON 


BY 

LAURA E. RICHARDS 

AUTHOK OF “CAPTAIN JANUARY,” “ IN MY NURSERY,” 
“ THE JOYOUS STORY OF TOTO,” ETC. 


3TIIufitrateH 


BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
1899 




43773 

Copyright, 1881, 

By Roberts Brothers 


Copyright, 1899, 

By Little, Brown, and Company. 


TWO COPIES RECEIVED, 


®CCOND COPY, 



Sfr&miL of 


^Hnttorsttg Press 


John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 


l 3 4~ c i'S\5 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Chop-Chin and the Golden Dragon .... 5 

The Three Remarks.38 

The Useful Coal..51 

The Naughty Comet.58 






( 


CHOP-CHIN 


AND 

THE GOLDEN DRAGON 


O NCE upon a time, long ago and long ago, 
there lived in Pekin, which, as you all 
know, is the chief city of the Chinese Empire, 
a boy whose name was Chop-Chin. He was 
the son of Ly-Chee, a sweeper of the Imperial 
court-yard, whose duty it was to keep the 
pavement of the court-yard always absolutely 
clean, in case His Celestial Majesty, the Em¬ 
peror, should feel inclined to put his celestial 
and majestic nose out-of-doors. Chop-Chin 
hoped to become a sweeper also, when he was 
a little older • but at the time when my story 
begins he was only twelve years old, and the 
law required that all sweepers should have 
passed their fourteenth year. So Chop-Chin 
helped his mother about the house,— for he 



6 


CHOP-CHIN 


was a good boy, — carried his father’s dinner 
to him, and made himself generally useful. 

One day Chop-Chin entered the court-yard 
at the usual time, carrying a jar of rice on 
his head, and a melon in one hand. These 
were for his father’s dinner,' and setting them 
down in a shaded corner, on the cool white 
marble pavement, he looked about for his 
father. But Ly-Chee was nowhere to be seen. 
A group of sweepers stood at the farther end 
of the court-yard, talking together in a state of 
wild excitement, with many gestures. One 
of them drew his hand across his throat rap¬ 
idly, and they all shuddered. Some one was 
to be killed, then ? Chop-Chin wondered 
what it all meant. Suddenly one of the 
group caught sight of him, and at once 
they fell silent. Two or three, who were 
friends of his father, began to wring their 
hands and tear their clothes, and the oldest 
sweeper of all advanced solemnly toward 
the boy, holding out both his hands, with the 
palms downward, in token of sympathy. 

“ My son,” he said, “ what is man’s life but 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 7 

a string of beads, which at one time or an¬ 
other must be broken ? Shall the wise man 
disquiet himself whether more or fewer beads 
have passed over the hand ?” 

“ What words are these ? ” cried Chop- 
Chin, alarmed, though he knew not why. 
“ Why do you look and speak so strangely, 
Yow-Lay; and where is my father ? ” 

The old sweeper led the boy to a stone 
bench, and bade him sit down beside him. 
“ Thou knowest,” he said, “ that the first duty 
of us sweepers is to keep the court-yard 
always as clean as the sky after rain, and 
as white as the breath of the frost.” 

“ I know it well,” replied the boy. “ Does 
not my father wear out two pairs of scrub¬ 
bing-shoes in a month ? ” 

“Alas! my son,” said the old man, “your 
father will wear out no more scrubbing-shoes. 
Listen! This morning, while we were all 
busily at work, it chanced through some 
evil fate that His Celestial Majesty felt a de¬ 
sire to taste the freshness of the morning air. 
Unannounced he came, with only the Princely 


8 


CHOP-CHHS" 


Parasol-Holder, the Unique Umbrella-Opener, 
and seven boys to bold up his celestial train. 
You know that your father is slightly deaf ? 
Yes. Well, he stood — my good friend Ly- 
Chee — he stood with his back to the palace. 
He heard not the noise of the opening door, 
and at the very moment when His Celestial 
Majesty stepped out into the court-yard, Ly- 
Chee cast a great bucketful of ice-cold water 
backward, with fatal force and precision.” 

Chop-Chin shuddered, and hid his face 
in his hands. 

“ Picture to yourself the dreadful scene! ” 
continued the ancient sweeper. “ The Celes¬ 
tial Petticoat, of yellow satin damask, was 
drenched. The Celestial Shoes, of chicken- 
skin embroidered in gold, were reduced to a 
pulp. A shriek burst from every mouth! 
Your unhappy father turned, and seeing what 
he had done, fell on his face, as did all the rest 
of us. In silence we waited for the awful 
voice, which presently said : — 

“ 4 Princely Parasol-Holder, our feet are wet/ 
“ The Princely Parasol-Holder groaned, and 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 9 

chattered his teeth together to express his 
anguish. 

“ ‘ Unique Umbrella-Opener/ continued 
the Emperor, ‘ our petticoat is completely 
saturated.’ 

“ The Unique Umbrella-Opener tore his 
clothes, and shook his hair wildly about his 
face, with moans of agony. 

“ c Let this man’s head be removed at 
sunrise to-morrow! ’ concluded His Celestial 
Majesty. 

“ Then we all, lying on our faces, wept and 
cried aloud, and besought the celestial mercy 
for our comrade. We told the Emperor of 
Ly-Chee’s long and faithful service ; of his 
upright and devout life; of his wife and chil¬ 
dren, who looked to him for their daily bread. 
But all was of no avail. He repeated, in 
dreadful tones, his former words : — 

“ ‘ Our feet are wet. Our petticoat is satu¬ 
rated. Let this man’s head be removed at 
sunrise to-morrow.’ 

“Then the Unique Umbrella-Holder, who 
is a kindly man, made also intercession for 


10 


chop-chin 


Ly-Chee. But now the Emperor waxed 
wroth, and he said : — 

“ ‘ Are our clothes to be changed, or do we 
stand here all day in wetness because of this 
dog? We swear that unless the Golden 
Dragon himself come down from his altar 
and beg for this man’s life, he shall die! 
Enough! ’ And with these words he with- 
drew into the palace. 

“ So thou seest, my son,” said the old man, 
sadly, “ that all is over with thy poor father. 
He is now in the prison of the condemned, 
and to-morrow at sunrise he must die. Go 
home, boy, and comfort thy poor mother, 
telling her this sad thing as gently as thou 
mayest.” 

Chop-Chin arose, kissed the old man’s hand 
in token of gratitude for his kindness, and 
left the court-yard without a word. His head 
was in a whirl, and strange thoughts darted 
through it. He went home, but did not tell 
his mother of the fate which awaited her 
husband on the morrow. He could not feel 
that it was true. It could not be that the 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 11 

next day, all in a moment, his father would 
cease to live. There must be some way,—. 
some way to save him. And then he seemed 
to hear the dreadful words, “ Unless the Golden 
Dragon himself come down from his altar 
and beg for this man’s life, he shall die.” He 
told his mother, in answer to her anxious 
questions, that his father meant to pass the 
night in the court-yard, as he would be 
wanted very early in the morning; and as 
it was a hot day, and promised a warm 
night, the good woman felt no uneasiness, 
but turned again to her pots and pans. 

But Chop-Chin sat on the bench in front 
of the house, with his head in his hands, 
thinking deeply. 

That evening, at sunset, a boy was seen 
walking slowly along the well-paved street 
which led to the great temple of the Golden 
Dragon. He was clad in a snow-white 
tunic falling to his knees; his arms and 
legs were bare; and his pig-tail, unbraided 
and hanging in a crinkly mass below his 


12 


CHOP-CHIN 


waist, showed that he was bent on some 
sacred mission. In his hands, raised high 
above his head, he carried a bronze bowl of 
curious workmanship. Many people turned 
to look at the boy, for his face and figure 
were of singular beauty. 

“He carries the prayers of some great 
prince,” they said, “ to offer at the shrine 
of the Golden Dragon.” 

And, indeed, it was at the great bronze 
gate of the Temple that the boy stopped. 
Poising the bronze bowl gracefully on his 
head with one hand, with the other he 
knocked three times on the gate. It opened, 
and revealed four guards clad in black armor, 
who stood with glittering pikes crossed, their 
points towards the boy. 

“ What seekest thou,” asked the leader, 
“in the court of the Holy Dragon?” 

Chop-Chin (for I need not tell you the 
boy was he) lowered the bowl from his 
head, and offered it to the soldier with a 
graceful reverence. 

“Tong-Ki-Tcheng,” he said, “sends you 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 13 

greeting, and a draught of cool wine. He 
begs your prayers to the Holy Dragon that 
he may recover from his grievous sickness, 
and prays that I may pass onward to the 
shrine.” 

The guards bowed low at the name of 
Tong-Ki-Tcheng, a powerful Prince of the 
Empire, who lay sick of a fever in his palace, 
as all the city knew. Each one in turn 
took a draught from the deep bowl, and the 
leader said: — 

“ Our prayers shall go up without ceasing 
for Tong-Ki-Tcheng, the noble and great. 
Pass on, fair youth, and good success go 
with thee! ” 

They lowered their pikes, and Chop-Chin 
passed slowly through the court-yard paved 
with black marble, and came to the second 
gate, which was of shining steel. Here he 
knocked again, and the gate was opened 
by four guards clad in steel from top to 
toe, and glittering in the evening light. 

“ What seekest thou,” they asked, “ in the 
court of the Holy Dragon ? ” 


14 


CHOP-CHIN 


Chop-Chin answered as before: — 

“ Tong-Ki-Tcheng sends you greeting, and 
a draught of cool wine. He begs your 
prayers to the Holy Dragon that he may re¬ 
cover from his grievous sickness, and prays 
that I may pass onward to the shrine.’’ 

The guards drank deeply from the bowl, 
and their leader replied: “ Our prayers shall 
not cease to go up for Tong-Ki-Tcheng. 
Pass on, and good success go with thee! ” 
Onward the boy went, holding the bronze 
bowl high above his head. He crossed the 
white marble court-yard, and his heart beat 
when he came to the third gate, which 
was of whitest ivory, for he knew that be¬ 
yond the third court-yard was the Temple 
itself, — the House of Gold, in which dwelt 
the mighty Dragon, the most sacred idol in 
all China. He paused a moment, and then 
with a steady hand knocked at the gate. It 
opened without a sound, and there stood four 
guards in white armor inlaid with gold. The 
same questions and answers were repeated. 
They drank from the bowl, promised their 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 


15 


prayers for Tong-Ki-Tcheng, and then bade 
the boy pass onward to the golden gate, 
which gleamed at the farther end of the 
court-yard. 

“ But see that thou touch not the gate! ” 
said the chief soldier. “ It is the gate of 
the Temple itself, and no profane hand may 
rest upon it. Speak only, and the priests 
will hear and open to thee.” 

Softly Chop-Chin paced across the last 
court, which was paved with blocks of ivory 
and silver, laid in cunning patterns. Halting 
before the gate of gold, he raised the bowl 
in his hands, and said softly: — 

“Ka Ho Yai! YaiHongTi! 

Tong-Ki-Tcheng Lo Hum Ki Ni! ” 

The gates opened, and showed four priests 
in robes of cloth-of-gold, with golden censers 
in hand. 

“Rash youth!” said the chief priest, “by 
what right or by whose order comest thou 
here, to the Sacred Shrine of the Holy 
Dragon ? ” 


16 


CHOP-CHIN 


Chop-Chin knelt upon the threshold of the 
golden gate, and, with bowed head and down¬ 
cast eyes, held out the bronze bowl. 

“ By the right of mortal sickness, most 
holy priest, come I hither! ” he said, “ and 
by order of the noble Tong-Ki-Tcheng. He 
prays thee and thy brethren to drink to his 
recovery from his grievous malady, and that 
your prayers may go up with mine at the 
Jewelled Shrine itself. 5 ' 

The priest drank solemnly from the bowl, 
and handed it to his assistants, the last of 
whom drained the last drop of wine. 

“ Our prayers shall truly go up for Tong- 
Ki-Tcheng , 55 he said. “ Give me thy hand, 
fair youth, and I will lead thee to the Jew¬ 
elled Shrine. But first I will cover thine 
eyes, for none save ourselves, priests of the 
First Order of the Saki-Pan, may look upon 
the face of the Holy Dragon . 55 

So saying, he bound a silk handkerchief 
firmly over the boy’s eyes, and taking his 
hand, led him slowly forward. 

Chop-Chin’s heart was beating so violently 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 17 

that he was half suffocated. He felt the 
floor suddenly cold, cold, beneath his feet, 
and knew that he was walking on the golden 
floor of the Temple. A few steps farther, the 
hand of the priest drew him downward, and 
together with the four priests he lay pros¬ 
trate on his face before the shrine of the 
Golden Dragon. 

A great silence followed. The warm, in¬ 
cense-laden air was stirred by no sound save 
the breathing of the five suppliants. No 
breeze rustled the heavy satin curtains which 
shrouded the windows; no hum of insect or 
song of bird came from the outer world, 
which was fast settling down into night. 

Silence! 

The boy Chop-Chin lay as still as if he 
were carved in marble. He held his breath 
from time to time, and his whole being 
seemed strained to one effort, — that of list¬ 
ening. Did he hear anything? Was the 
breathing of the four priests changing a 
little, — growing deeper, growing louder ? 
There! and there again ! was that a whisper 
2 


18 


CHOP-CHIN 


of prayer, or was it—could it be — the faint¬ 
est suspicion of a snore? He lay still; waited 
and listened, listened and waited. After a 
little while there could be no doubt about 
it, — the four men were breathing heavily, 
slowly, regularly; and one of them rolled 
out a sonorous, a majestic snore, which re¬ 
sounded through the heavy perfumed air of 
the Temple, yet caused no movement among 
the other three. There could be no doubt 
about it, — the priests were asleep! 

Slowly, softly, the boy lifted his head; 
then he rose to his knees, and looked fear¬ 
fully at the sleepers. There they lay, flat 
on their faces, their hands clasped over their 
heads. He touched one of them, — there was 
no answering movement. He shook another 
by the shoulders; he shook them all. They 
snored in concert, but gave no other sign of 
life. The drugged wine had done its work. 

Then, and not till then, did Chop-Chin 
venture to lift his eyes and look upon the 
awful mystery which was hidden by these 
golden walls. He trembled, he turned white 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 19 

as the tunic which covered his dusky limbs; 
but standing -erect, he gazed firmly at the 
Golden Dragon. From the floor rose a 
splendid altar of gold, studded thick with 
precious gems. Rubies, sapphires, and emer¬ 
alds, set in mystic lines and figures, formed 
the characters which told the thirty-two 
names of the world-renowned dragon; and 
on the top of this glittering pedestal, fifteen 
feet in the air, stood the idol itself. 

It was, indeed, a marvellous thing to look 
upon. Ten feet long, composed entirely of 
thin scales of the purest gold, laid over and 
over each other, and each scale tipped with 
a diamond. Two magnificent rubies glowed 
in the eye-sockets, and the head was sur¬ 
mounted by a crown of emeralds worth any 
ordinary kingdom. But the tail! the tail 
was the wonder of wonders. Millions of deli¬ 
cate gold wires as fine as silk waved grace¬ 
fully from the scaly tip a length of three 
feet, and each one was tipped with a dia¬ 
mond, a ruby, or an emerald of surpassing 
beauty and lustre. So wonderful was the 


20 


CHOP-CHIN 


shimmering light of the stones that the 
whole tail seemed to sway and curl to and 
fro, as if some living creature were moving 
it, and rays of rainbow-colored light darted 
from it on every side, dazzling the eyes of 
the beholder. 

Chop-Chin gazed and gazed, and hid his 
eyes and trembled, and gazed again. At 
last he shook himself together, and whis¬ 
pered, “My father! my father!” Then 
softly, surely, he began to climb up the 
golden altar. Stepping carefully from glit¬ 
tering point to point, holding on here by 
a projecting ornament of carven amethyst, 
there by a block of jasper or onyx, he 
reached the top; then steadying himself, he 
leaned forward and lifted the Holy Dragon 
from its stand. To his amazement, instead 
of being barely able to move it, he found 
he could easily carry it, for the golden plates 
which formed it were so delicate that the 
weight of the whole great creature was in¬ 
credibly small. Lightly the boy lifted it in 
his arms, and slowly, surely, noiselessly bore 


AKD THE BOLDEST l)RAGOlSf. 21 

it to the ground. Here he paused, and 
looked keenly at the sleeping priests. Did 
that one’s eyelids quiver? did his mouth 
twitch, as if he were waking from his sleep ? 
Was that a movement of yon other man’s 
arm, as if he were stealthily preparing to 
rise, to spring upon the sacrilegious robber ? 
No! it was but the play of the colored light 
on the faces and raiment of the sleepers. 
The voice of their snoring still went up, 
calmly, evenly, regularly. The wine had 
done its work well. 

Then Chop-Chin took off the sash which 
bound his tunic at the waist, and shook out 
its folds. It was a web of crimson silk, so 
fine and soft that it could be drawn through 
a finger-ring, and yet, when spread out, so 
ample that the boy found no difficulty in 
completely covering with it his formidable 
prize. Thus enwrapped, he bore the Golden 
Dragon swiftly•from the Temple, closing the 
doors of gold softly behind him. He crossed 
the ivory and silver pavement of the inner 
court, and came to the ivory gate. It was 


22 


CHOP-CHIN 


closed, and beside it lay the four white-clad 
warriors, sunk in profound slumber. Step¬ 
ping lightly over their prostrate forms, Chop- 
Chin opened the gate softly, and found himself 
in the second court. This, also, he traversed 
safely, finding the armed guardians of the 
steel gate also sleeping soundly, with their 
mouths wide open, and their shining spears 
pointing valiantly at nothing. A touch upon 
the glittering gate, — it opened, and Chop- 
Chin began to breathe more freely when he 
saw the bronze gates of the outer court¬ 
yard, and knew that in another minute, if 
all went well, he would be in the open street. 
But, alas! the four guards clad in black ar¬ 
mor, who kept watch by the outer gate, had 
been the first to drink the drugged wine, 
and already the effect of the powerful nar¬ 
cotic which it contained had begun to wear 
off. As Chop-Chin, bearing in his arms 
the shrouded figure of the mighty idol, ap¬ 
proached the gate, one of the four sleepers 
stirred, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and looked 
about him. It was quite dark, but his eye 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 23 

caught the faint glimmer of the boy’s white 
robe, and seizing his pike, he exclaimed, — 

“ Who goes there ? ” 

Chop-Chin instantly stepped to his side, 
and said in a low whisper,— 

“It is I, Nai-Ping, second priest of the 
Saki-Pan, bound on business of the Temple. 
Let me pass, and quickly, for the chief priest 
waits my return.” 

The sentinel bowed low, and undid the . 
fastenings of the huge bronze gates. They 
swung open silently, and the boy passed 
through with his awful burden. 

“ Strange! ” soliloquized the guard, as he 
drew the massive bolts again. “ I never 
knew one of the priests to go out at this time 
of night. But I dared not say anything, 
lest he should find out that I was asleep 
at my post. And now that he is gone,” he 
added, “ I may as well just take forty winks, 
as he may be away some time.” 

So saying, he curled himself up on the 
marble pavement, and fell this time into a 
natural slumber. 


24 


CHOP-CHIN 


Ten o’clock of a dark night. The outer 
gates of the royal palace were closed, though 
lights still shone in many of the windows. 
Outside the gate a sentinel was pacing up 
and down, armed with pike and broadsword. 
Every time he turned on his beat, he looked 
up and down the narrow street to see if any¬ 
thing or anybody were approaching. Sud¬ 
denly, as he wheeled about, he saw before 
him a figure which seemed to have sprung 
all in a moment out of the blackness of 
the night. It was the figure of a boy, car¬ 
rying a burden considerably larger than him¬ 
self, — a dark and shapeless mass, which 
yet seemed not to be heavy in proportion 
to its size. 

“ What is this ? ” cried the astonished sen¬ 
tinel. “ Who art thou, and what monstrous 
burden is this thou carriest so lightly ? ” 

“ Hist! ” said the boy, speaking in an awe¬ 
struck whisper, “ speak not so loud, friend! 
This is the Celestial Footstool!” 

The sentinel recoiled, and stared in dismay 
at the dark bundle. 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 25 

“ May the Holy Dragon preserve me ! ” he 
said. “ What has happened ?” 

“ His Celestial Majesty,” replied Chop-Chin, 
“ threw it in anger at his Putter-on-of-Slippers 
yesterday, and broke one of its legs. All day 
my master, the Chief Cabinet-maker, has been 
at work on it, and now he has sent me with 
it by nightfall, that no profane eye may see 
clearly even the outer covering of the sacred 
object.” 

“Pass in,” said the sentinel, opening the 
gate. “ But tell me, knowest thou how it 
will fare with the Putter-on-of-Slippers ? He 
is cousin to my stepfather’s aunt by marriage, 
and I would not that aught of ill should 
befall so near a relative.” 

“ Alas ! I know not,” said the boy, hastening 
forward. “ I fear it may go hard with him.” 

The sentinel shook his head sadly, and re¬ 
sumed his walk; while Chop-Chin crept softly 
through the court-yard, keeping close to the 
wall, and feeling as he went along for a cer¬ 
tain little door he knew of, which led by a 
staircase cut in the thickness of the wall to 


26 


CHOP-CHIN 


a certain unused closet, near the Celestial 
Bed-chamber. 

While all this was going on, the Emperor 
of China, the great and mighty Wah-Song, 
was going to bed. He had sipped his night- 
draught of hot wine mingled with honey and 
spices, sitting on the edge of the Celestial 
Bed, with the Celestial Nightcap of cloth-of- 
silver tied comfortably under his chin, and 
the Celestial Dressing-gown wrapped around 
him. He had scolded the Chief Pillow- 
thumper because the pillows were not fat 
enough, and because there were only ten of 
them instead of twelve. He had boxed the 
ears of the Tyer-of-the-Strings-of-the-Nightcap, 
and had thrown his golden goblet at the 
Principal Pourer, who brought him the wine. 
And when all these things were done, his 
Celestial Majesty Wah-Song got into bed, and 
w^as tucked in by the Finishing Toucher, who 
got his nose well tweaked by way of thanks. 
Then the taper of perfumed wax was lighted, 
and the shade of alabaster put over it, and 
then the other lights were extinguished; and 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 


27 


r 

then the attendants all crawled out back¬ 
wards on their hands and knees, and shut 
the door after them; and then His Celestial 
Majesty went to sleep. 

Peacefully the Emperor slept, — one hour, 
two hours, three hours, — discoursing elo¬ 
quently the while in the common language 
of mankind, — the language of the nose. At 
last he began to dream, — a dreadful dream. 
He was in the Golden Temple, praying before 
the Jewelled Shrine. He heard an awful 
voice, — the voice of the Golden Dragon. It 
called his name; it glared upon him with its 
ruby eyes; it lifted its crowned head, and 
stretched its long talons toward him. Ah! 
ah! The Emperor tried to scream, but he 
could make no sound. Once more the dread¬ 
ful voice was heard : — 

“ Wah-Song! Wall-Song! Awake ! ” 

The Emperor sprang up in bed, and looked 
about him with eyes wild with terror.' Ah! 
what was that? — that glittering form stand¬ 
ing at the foot of his bed; that crowned 
head raised high as if in anger; those 



28 


CHOP-CHIN 


glaring red eyes fixed menacingly upon 
him! 

“Ah, horror! ah, destruction! the Golden 
Dragon is here ! ” 

With one long howl of terror and anguish, 
His Celestial Majesty Wah-Song rolled off 
the bed and under it, in one single motion, 
and lay there flat on his face, with his hands 
clasped over his head. Quaking in every 
limb, his teeth chattering, and a cold sweat 
pouring from him, he listened as the awful 
voice spoke again. 

“Wah-Song!” said the Golden Dragon, 
“ thou hast summoned me, and I am here! ” 

The wretched Emperor moaned. 

“I — I — I sum-summon thee, most Golden 
and Holy Dragon ? ” he stammered faintly. 
“ May I be b-b-bastinadoed if I did ! ” 

“Listen ! ” said the Dragon, sternly, a and 
venture not to speak save when I ask thee 
a question. Yesterday morning, in conse¬ 
quence of thine own caprice in going out 
unannounced, thy silly shoes and thy pusil¬ 
lanimous petticoat became wet. For this 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 


29 


nothing, thou hast condemned to death my 
faithful servant Ly-Chee, who has brought 
me fresh melons every Tuesday afternoon 
for thirty years. When others, less inhuman 
than thou, interceded for his life, thou madest 
reply, ‘We swear, that unless the Golden 
Dragon himself come down from his altar 
and beg for this man’s life, he shall die ! ’ ” 
The Emperor groaned, and clawed the 
carpet in his anguish. 

“ Therefore, Wah-Song,” continued the 
Dragon, “ I am here ! I come not to beg, 
but to command. Dost thou hear me ? ” 

“ Ye-ye-yes! ” murmured the wretched 
monarch. “I hear thee, Most Mighty. I — 
I — did n’t know he brought thee melons. I 
brought thee two dozen pineapples myself, 
the other day/’ he added piteously. 

“ Thou didst! ” exclaimed the Golden 
Dragon, fiercely. “ Thou didst, slave! and 
they were half-rotten. Ha ! ” and be gave 
a little jump on the floor, making his glitter¬ 
ing tail wave, and liis flaming eyes glared 
yet more fiercely at the unfortunate Wah- 


30 


CHOP-CHIN 


Song, who clung yet more closely to the 
carpet, and drummed on it with his heels 
in an extremity of fear. 

“ Listen, now,” said the Fiery Idol, “ to 
my commands. Before day-break thou wilt 
send a free pardon to Ly-Chee, who now 
lies in the prison of the condemned, expect¬ 
ing to die at sunrise.” 

“ I will! I will! ” cried the Emperor. 

“ Moreover,” continued the Dragon, “ thou 
wilt send him, by a trusty messenger, twenty 
bags of goodly ducats, one for every hour 
that he has spent in prison.” 

The Emperor moaned feebly, for he loved 
his goodly ducats. 

“ Furthermore, thou wilt make Ly-Chee 
thy Chief Sweeper for life, with six brooms 
of gilded straw, with ivory handles, as his 
yearly perquisite, besides three dozen pairs 
of scrubbing-shoes; and his son, Chop-Chin, 
shalt thou appoint as Second Sweeper, to help 
his father.” 

The Emperor moaned again, but very faintly, 
for he dared not make any objection. 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 31 

“ These are my orders! ” continued the 
Dragon. “ Obey them strictly and speedily, 
and thine offence may be pardoned. Neg¬ 
lect them, even in the smallest particular, 
and — Ha! Hum! Wurra-m/rra-G-R-R-R-R-R-R! ” 
and here the Dragon opened his great red 
mouth, and uttered so fearful a growl that 
the miserable Emperor lost hold of such little 
wits as had remained to him, and fainted 
dead away. 

Ten minutes later, the sentinel at the 
gate was amazed at the sight of the Chief 
Cabinet-maker’s apprentice, reappearing sud¬ 
denly before him, with his monstrous bur¬ 
den still in his arms. The boy’s hair was 
dishevelled, and his face was very pale. 
In truth, it had been very hard work to 
get in and out of the hollow golden mon¬ 
ster, and Chop-Chin was well-nigh exhausted 
by his efforts, and the great excitement 
which had nerved him to carry out his 
bold venture. 

“ How now ! ” cried the sentinel. “ What 
means this, boy ? ” 


32 


CHOP-CHIN 


“Alas!” said Chop-Chin, “ alas! unhappy 
that I am ! Was it my fault that the mended 
leg was a hair-breadth shorter than the 
others ? Good soldier, I have been most 
grievously belabored, even with the Sacred 
Footstool itself, which, although it be a great 
honor, is nevertheless a painful one. And 
now must I take it back to my master, for 
it broke again the last time His Celestial 
Majesty brought it down on my head. Where¬ 
fore let me pass, good sentinel, for I can 
hardly stand for weariness.’’ 

“Pass on,poor lad!” said the good-natured 
soldier. “ And yet — stay a moment! think- 
est thou that aught would be amiss if I were 
to take just one peep at the Celestial Foot¬ 
stool ? Often have I heard of its marvellous 
workmanship, and its tracery of pearl and 
ebony. Do but lift one corner of the mantle, 
good youth, and let me see at least a leg of 
the wonder.” 

“ At thy peril, touch it not! ” cried the 
boy, in great alarm. “Knowest thou not 
that the penalty is four hundred lasbes? 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 33 

Not a single glance have I ventured to 
cast at it, for they say its color changes 
if any profane eye rest upon its polished 
surface.” 

“ Pass on, then, in the name of the Dragon! ” 
said the sentinel, opening the gate; and bid¬ 
ding him a hasty good-night, Chop-Chin 
hurried away into the darkness. 

Now, while all this was going on, it chanced 
that the four priests of the First Order of the 
Saki-Pan awoke from their slumber. What 
their feelings were when they lifted their 
eyes and saw that the Golden Dragon was 
gone, is beyond my power to tell. Their 
terror was so extreme that they did not 
dare to move, but after the first horrified 
glance at the bare altar flung themselves 
flat on their faces again, and howled and 
moaned in their anguish. 

“ ¥e slept! ” they cried, in a doleful chant 
of misery. “ Yea, verily slept we. 

“ Ai! ai! we know not why 
Wow! wow ! we know not how. 


3 


34 


CHOP-CHIN 


“ Thou removedst thyself. Thou raisedst 
the paw of strength and the hind-feet of 
swiftness. Because we slept, thou art gone 
away, and we are desolate, awaiting the 
speedily-advancing death. 

“ Hong ! Kong ! Punka-wunka-woggle ! 

Hong! Kong! Punka-wunka-wogg!” 

While thus the wretched priests lay on 
the golden floor, bewailing their sin and its 
dreadful consequences, there fell suddenly 
on their ears a loud and heavy sound. It 
was at some distance, — a heavy clang, as 
of some one striking on metal. “ Pong! 
pong! ” what could it be ? And now came 
other sounds, — the opening and shutting of 
gates, the tread of hasty feet, the sound of 
hurried voices, and finally a loud knocking 
at the door of the Temple itself. 

“ Open, most holy Priests of the Saki- 
Pan 1” cried a voice. “We have strange 
and fearful news ! Open without delay! ” 

The unhappy priests hurried to the door, 
and flung it open with trembling hands. 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 35 

Without stood all the guards of all the gates, 
the white and the steel-clad soldiers cluster¬ 
ing about the four black-clad guardians of 
the outer gate. 

“ Speak! ” said the chief priest in great 
agitation, “ what is your errand ? ” 

“ 0 Priest! ” said the black guards, trem¬ 
bling with excitement, “ we heard a great 
knocking at the gate.” 

“Yes, yes!” cried the priest, “I know 
it. What more ? ” 

“ 0 Priest! ” said the guards, “ we were 
affrighted, so great was the noise; so we 
opened the gate but a little way, and peeped 
through ; and we saw — we saw — ” They 
paused, and gasped for breath. 

“ Speak, sons of pigs ! ” shrieked the priest, 
“ what did you see ? ” 

“We saw the Golden Dragon!” said the 
soldiers, in a fearful whisper. “ He is sitting 
up — on his hind-legs—with his mouth open! 
and he knocked — he knocked — ” 

But the priests of the Saki-Pan waited to 
hear no more. Rushing through the court- 


36 


CHOP-CHIN 


yards, they flung wide open the great bronze 
gates. They caught up the Golden Dragon, 
they raised it high on their shoulders, and 
with shouts of rejoicing they bore it back 
to the Temple, while the guards prostrated 
themselves before it. 

“ He went out! ” sang the priests. 66 He 
walked abroad, for the glory and welfare of 
his subjects. He cast upon the city the eye 
of beneficence; he waved over it the pleni¬ 
potentiary tail! 

“Ail ai! we know not why! 

Wow ! wow! we know not how ! 

Glory to the Holy Dragon, and happiness 
and peace to the city and the people! ” 

But in the house of Ly-Chee all was sun¬ 
shine and rejoicing. At daybreak, a pro¬ 
cession had come down the little street, — a 
troop of soldiers in the imperial uniform, 
with music sounding before them, and gay 
banners flaunting in the morning air. In 
the midst of the troop rode Ly-Chee, on a 
splendid black horse. He was dressed in 


AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. 


37 


a robe of crimson satin embroidered with 
gold, and round his neck hung strings of 
jewels most glorious to see. Behind him 
walked twenty slaves, each carrying a fat 
bag of golden ducats; and after the troop 
came more slaves, bearing gilded brooms 
with ivory handles and scrubbing-shoes of 
the finest quality. And all the soldiers and 
all the slaves cried aloud, continually: — 

“ Honor to Ly-Chee, the Chief-Sweeper 
of the court-yard! Honor and peace to him 
and all his house ! ” 

The procession stopped before the little 
house, and the good sweeper, stupefied still 
with astonishment at his wonderful good for¬ 
tune, dismounted and clasped his wife and 
children in his arms. And they wept to¬ 
gether for joy, and the soldiers and the slaves 
and all the people wept with them. 

But the Celestial Emperor, Wah-Song, lay 
in bed for two weeks, speaking to no man, and 
eating nothing but water-gruel. And when 
he arose, at the end of that time, behold! he 
was as meek as a six-year-old child. 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


HERE was once a princess, the most 



JL beautiful princess that ever was seen. 
Her hair was black and soft as the raven’s 
%wing ; her eyes were like stars dropped in 
a pool of clear water, and her speech like the 
first tinkling cascade of the baby Nile. She 
was also wise, graceful, and gentle, so that 
one would have thought she must be the 
happiest princess in the world. 

But, alas! there was one terrible drawback 
to her happiness. She could make only three 
remarks. No one knew whether it was the 
fault of her nurse, or a peculiarity born with 
her; but the sad fact remained, that no mat¬ 
ter what was said to her, she could only reply 
in one of three phrases. The first was, — 

“ What is the price of butter ? ” 

The second, “Has your grandmother sold 
her mangle yet?” 


The three remarks. 


39 


And the third, “ With all my heart! ” 

You may well imagine what a great mis¬ 
fortune this was to a young and lively 
princess. How could she join in the sports 
and dances of the noble youths and maidens 
of the court ? She could not always be 
silent, neither could she always say, “ With 
all my heart! ” though this was her favorite 
phrase, and she used it whenever she pos¬ 
sibly could; and it was not at all pleasant, 
when some gallant knight asked her whether 
she would rather play croquet or Aunt Sally, 
to be obliged to reply, “What is the price 
of butter?” 

On certain occasions, however, the princess 
actually found her infirmity of service to her. 
She could always put an end suddenly to any 
conversation that did not please her, by inter¬ 
posing with her first or second remark; and 
they were also a very great assistance to her 
when, as happened nearly every day, she re¬ 
ceived an offer of marriage. Emperors, kings, 
princes, dukes, earls, marquises, viscounts, 
baronets, and many other lofty personages 


40 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


knelt at her feet, and offered her their hands, 
hearts, and other possessions of greater or 
less value. But for all her suitors the prin¬ 
cess had but one answer. Fixing her deep 
radiant eyes on them, she would reply with 
thrilling earnestness, “ Has your grandmother 
sold her mangle yet ? ” and this always im¬ 
pressed the suitors so deeply that they retired, 
weeping, to a neighboring monastery, where 
they hung up their armor in the chapel, and 
taking the vows, passed the remainder of 
their lives mostly in flogging themselves, 
wearing hair shirts, and putting dry toast- 
crumbs in their beds. 

Now, when the king found that all his best 
nobles were turning into monks, he was greatly 
displeased, and said to the princess: — 

“ My daughter, it is high time that all this 
nonsense came to an end. The next time a 
respectable person asks you to marry him, 
you will say, ‘ With all my heart! ’ or I will 
know the reason why.” 

But this the princess could not endure, for 
she had never yet seen a man whom she was 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


41 


willing to marry. Nevertheless, she feared 
her father’s anger, for she knew that he 
always kept his word; so that very night 
she slipped down the back stairs of the pal¬ 
ace, opened the back door, and ran away out 
into the wide world. 

She wandered for many days, over moun¬ 
tain and moor, through fen and through 
forest, until she came to a fair city. Here 
all the bells were ringing, and the people 
shouting and flinging caps into the air; for 
their old king was dead, and they were just 
about to crown a new one. The new king 
was a stranger, who had come to the town 
only the day before; but as soon as he heard 
of the old monarch’s death, he told the peo¬ 
ple that he was a king himself, and as he 
happened to be without a kingdom at that 
moment, he would be quite willing to rule 
over them. The people joyfully assented, 
for the late king had left no heir; and now 
all the preparations had been completed. 
The crown had been polished up, and a new 
tip put on the sceptre, as the old king had 


42 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


quite spoiled it by poking the fire with it for 
upwards of forty years. 

When the people saw the beautiful prin¬ 
cess, they welcomed her with many bows, 
and insisted on leading her before the new 
king. 

“ Who knows but that they may be re¬ 
lated ? ” said everybody. “ They both came 
from the same direction, and both are 
strangers.” 

Accordingly the princess was led to the 
market-place, where the king was sitting 
in royal state. He had a fat, red, shining 
face, and did not look like the kings whom 
she had been in the habit of seeing; but 
nevertheless the princess made a graceful 
courtesy, and then waited to hear what he 
would say. 

The new king seemed rather embarrassed 
when he saw that it was a princess who ap¬ 
peared before him; but he smiled graciously, 
and said, in a smooth oily voice,— 

“ I trust your Tghness is quite well. And 
’ow did yer Tghness leave yer pa and ma ? ” 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


43 


At these words the princess raised her head 
and looked fixedly at the red-faced king ; then 
she replied, with scornful distinctness, — 

“ What is the price of butter ? ” 

At these words an alarming change came 
over the king’s face. The red faded from it, 
and left it a livid green ; his teeth chattered; 
his eyes stared, and rolled in their sockets; 
while the sceptre dropped from his trembling 
hand and fell at the princess’s feet. For the 
truth was, this was no king at all, but a 
retired butterman, who had laid by a little 
money at his trade, and had thought of set¬ 
ting up a public house; but chancing to pass 
through this city at the very time when they 
were looking for a king, it struck him that he 
might just as well fill the vacant place as any 
one else. No one had thought of his being 
an impostor; but when the princess fixed her 
clear eyes on him and asked him that familiar 
question, which he had been in the habit of 
hearing many times a day for a great part 
of his life, the guilty butterman thought him¬ 
self detected, and shook in his guilty shoes. 


44 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


Hastily descending from his throne, he beck¬ 
oned the princess into a side-chamber, and 
closing the door, besought her in moving 
terms not to betray him. 

“ Here,” he said, “ is a bag of rubies as big 
as pigeon’s eggs. There are six thousand of 
them, and I ’umbly beg your Tghness to hac- 
cept them as a slight token hof my hesteem, 
if your Tghness will kindly consent to spare 
a respeckable tradesman the disgrace of being 
hexposed.” 

The princess reflected, and came to the 
conclusion that, after all, a butterman might 
make as good a king as any one else; so she 
took the rubies with a gracious little nod, 
and departed, while all the people shouted, 
“ Hooray! ” and followed her, waving their 
hats and kerchiefs, to the gates of the city. 

With her bag of rubies over her shoulder, 
the fair princess now pursued her journey, 
and fared forward over heath and hill, through 
brake and through brier. After several days 
she came to a deep forest, which she entered 
without hesitation, for she knew no fear. She 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


45 


had not gone a hundred paces under the arch¬ 
ing limes, when she was met by a band of 
robbers, who stopped her and asked what she 
did in their forest, and what she carried in 
her bag. They were fierce, black-bearded 
men, armed to the teeth with daggers, cut¬ 
lasses, pistols, dirks, hangers, blunderbusses, 
and other defensive weapons; but the princess 
gazed calmly on them, and said haughtily, — 

“ Has your grandmother sold her mangle 
yet! ” 

The effect was magical. The robbers 
started back in dismay, crying, “ The coun¬ 
tersign !” Then they hastily lowered their 
weapons, and assuming attitudes of abject 
humility, besought the princess graciously 
to accompany them to their master’s pres¬ 
ence. With a lofty gesture she signified as¬ 
sent, and the cringing, trembling bandits led 
her on through the forest till they reached 
an open glade, into which the sunbeams 
glanced right merrily. Here, under a broad 
oak-tree which stood in the centre of the 
glade, reclined a man of gigantic stature and 


46 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


commanding mien, with a whole armory of 
weapons displayed upon his person. Hasten¬ 
ing to their chief, the robbers conveyed to 
him, in agitated whispers, the circumstance 
of their meeting the princess, and of her un¬ 
expected reply to their questions. Hardly 
seeming to credit their statement, the gigan¬ 
tic chieftain sprang to his feet, and advancing 
toward the princess with a respectful rever¬ 
ence, begged her to repeat the remark which 
had so disturbed his men. With a royal air, 
and in clear and ringing tones, the princess 
repeated,— 

“ Has your grandmother sold her mangle 
yet ? ” and gazed steadfastly at the robber 
chief. 

He turned deadly pale, and staggered 
against a tree, which alone prevented him 
from falling. 

“It is true!” he gasped. “We are un¬ 
done ! The enemy is without doubt close at 
hand, and all is over. Yet,” he added with 
more firmness, and with an appealing glance 
at the princess, “ yet there may be one chance 



u It is true! ” he gasped. “ We are undone ! Noble princess ! ” and here 
he and the whole band assumed attitudes of supplication. 





























THE THREE REMARKS. 


47 


left for us. If this gracious lady will consent 
to go forward, instead of returning through 
the wood, we may yet escape with our lives. 
Noble princess! ” and here he and the whole 
band assumed attitudes of supplication, “ con¬ 
sider, I pray you, whether it would really 
add to your happiness to betray to the ad¬ 
vancing army a few poor foresters, who earn 
their bread by the sweat of their brow. 
Here,” he continued, hastily drawing some¬ 
thing from a hole in the oak-tree, “ is a bag con¬ 
taining ten thousand sapphires, each as large 
as a pullet’s egg. If you will graciously deign 
to accept them, and to pursue your journey in 
the direction I shall indicate, the Red Chief of 
the Rusty whanger will be your slave forever.” 

The princess, who of course .knew that 
there was no army in the neighborhood, and 
who moreover did not in the least care which 
way she went, assented to the Red Chief’s 
proposition, and taking the bag of sapphires, 
bowed her farewell to the grateful robbers, 
and followed their leader down a ferny 
path which led to the farther end of the 


48 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


forest. When they came to the open coun¬ 
try, the robber chieftain took his leave of the 
princess, with profound bows and many protes¬ 
tations of devotion, and returned to his band, 
who were already preparing to plunge into the 
impenetrable thickets of the midforest. 

The princess, meantime, with her two bags 
of gems on her shoulders, fared forward with 
a light heart, by dale and by down, through 
moss and through meadow. By-and-by she 
came to a fair high palace, built all of marble 
and shining jasper, with smooth lawns about 
it, and sunny gardens of roses and gilly¬ 
flowers, from which the air blew so sweet 
that it was a pleasure to breathe it. The 
princess stood still for a moment, to taste 
the sweetness of this air, and to look her fill 
at so fair a spot; and as she stood there, it 
chanced that the palace-gates opened, and 
the young king rode out with his court, to 
go a-catching of nighthawks. 

Now when the king saw a right fair prin¬ 
cess standing alone at his palace-gate, her 
rich garments dusty and travel-stained, and 


TOE THREE REMARKS. 


49 


two heavy sacks hung upon her shoulders, 
he was filled with amazement; and leaping 
from his steed, like the gallant knight that 
he was, he besought her to tell him whence 
she came and whither she was going, and in 
what way he might be of service to her. 

But the princess looked down at her little 
dusty shoes, and answered never a word; for 
she had seen at the first glance how fair and 
goodly a king this was, and she would not 
ask him the price of butter, nor whether 
his grandmother had sold her mangle yet. 
But she thought in her heart, “ Now, I have 
never, in all my life, seen a man to whom I 
would so willingly say, 6 With all my heart! * 
if he should ask me to marry him. 5 ’ 

The king marvelled much at her silence, 
and presently repeated his questions, adding, 
“ And what do you carry so carefully in those 
two sacks, which seem over-heavy for your 
delicate shoulders ? ” 

Still holding her eyes downcast, the prin¬ 
cess took a ruby from one bag, and a sapphire 
from the other, and in silence handed them to 

4 


50 


THE THREE REMARKS. 


the king, for she willed that he should know 
she was no beggar, even though her shoes 
were dusty. Thereat all the nobles were 
filled with amazement, for no such gems 
had ever been seen in that country. 

But the king looked steadfastly at the prin¬ 
cess, and said, “ Rubies are fine, and sapphires 
are fair; but, maiden, if I could but see those 
eyes of yours, I warrant that the gems would 
look pale and dull beside them.” 

At that the princess raised her clear dark 
eyes, and looked at the king and smiled; and 
the glance of her eyes pierced straight to nis 
heart, so that he fell on his knees and cried: 

“ Ah ! sweet princess, now do I know that 
thou art the love for whom I have waited so 
long, and whom I have sought through so 
many lands. Give me thy white hand, and 
tell me, either by word or by sign, that thou 
wilt be my queen and my bride! ” 

And the princess, like a right royal maiden 
as she was, looked him straight in the eyes, 
and giving him her little white hand, answered 
bravely, “ With all my heart! ” 


THE USEFUL COAL. 


T HERE was once a king whose name was 
Sligo. He was noted both for his riches 
and his kind heart. One evening, as he sat 
by his fireside, a coal fell out on the hearth. 
The king took up the tongs, intending to put 
it back on the fire, but the coal said: — 

“ If you will spare my life, and do as I tell 
you, I will save your treasure three times, 
and tell you the name of the thief who 
steals it.” 

These words gave the king great joy, for 
much treasure had been stolen from him of 
late, and none of his officers could discover 
the culprit. So he set the coal on the table, 
and said: — 

“ Pretty little black and red bird, tell me, 
what shall I do ? ” 

“ Put me in your waistcoat pocket,” said the 
coal, “ and take no more thought for to-night.” 


52 


THE USEFUL COAL. 


Accordingly the king put the coal in his 
pocket, and then, as he sat before the warm 
fire, he grew drowsy, and presently fell fast 
asleep. 

When he had been asleep some time, the 
door opened, very softly, and the High Cel¬ 
larer peeped cautiously in. This was the one 
of the king’s officers who had been most 
eager in searching for the thief. He now 
crept softly, softly, toward the king, and 
seeing that he was fast asleep, put his hand 
into his waistcoat-pocket; for in that waist¬ 
coat-pocket King Sligo kept the key of his 
treasure-chamber, and the High Cellarer was 
the thief. He put his hand into the waistcoat- 
pocket. S-s-s-s-s! the coal burned it so fright¬ 
fully that he gave a loud shriek, and fell on 
his knees on the hearth. 

“ What is the matter ? ” cried the king, 
waking with a start. 

“ Alas! your Majesty,” said the High Cel¬ 
larer, thrusting his burnt fingers into his 
bosom, that the king might not see them. 
“You were just on the point of falling for- 


THE USEFUL COAL. 53 

ward into the fire, and I cried out, partly 
from fright and partly to waken you.” 

The king thanked the High Cellarer, and 
gave him a ruby ring as a reward. But when 
he was in his chamber, and making ready for 
bed, the coal said to him : —- 

“ Once already have I saved your treasure, 
and to-night I shall save it again. Only put 
me on the table beside your bed, and you 
may sleep with a quiet heart.” 

So the king put the coal on the table, and 
himself into the bed, and was soon sound 
asleep. At midnight the door of the cham¬ 
ber opened very softly, and the High Cellarer 
peeped in again. He knew that at night 
King Sligo kept the key under his pillow, 
and he was coming to get it. He crept 
softly, softly, toward the bed, but as he drew 
near it, the coal cried out: — 

“ One eye sleeps, but the other eye wakes! 
one eye sleeps, but the other eye wakes! 
Who is this comes creeping, while honest 
men are sleeping ? ” 

The High Cellarer looked about him in 


54 


THE USEFUL COAL. 


affright, and saw the coal burning fiery red 
in the darkness, and looking for all the world 
like a great flaming eye. In an agony of 
fear he fled from the chamber, crying,— 

u Black and red ! black and red ! 

The king has a devil to guard his bed.” 

And he spent the rest of the night shivering 
in the farthest garret he could find. 

The next morning the coal said to the 
king: — 

“ Again this night have I saved your treas¬ 
ure, and mayhap your life as well. Yet a 
third time I shall do it, and this time you 
shall learn the name of the thief. But if I do 
this, you must promise me one thing, and that 
is that you will place me in your royal crown 
and wear me as a jewel. Will you do this ?” 

“ That will I, right gladly ! ” replied King 
Sligo, “for a jewel indeed you are.” 

“ That is well! ” said the coal. “ It is true 
that I am dying; but no matter. It is a fine 
thing to be a jewel in a king’s crown, even 
if one is dead. Now listen, and follow my 
directions closely. As soon as I am quite black 


THE USEFUL COAL. 


55 


and dead, — which will be in about ten min¬ 
utes from now, — you must take me in your 
hand and rub me all over and around the 
handle of the door of the treasure-chamber. 
A good part of me will be rubbed off, but 
there will be enough left to pub in your 
crown. When you have thoroughly rubbed 
the door, lay the key of the treasure-chamber 
on your table, as if you had left it there by 
mistake. You may then go hunting or riding, 
but not for more than an hour; and when 
you return, you must instantly call all your 
court together, as if on business of the great¬ 
est importance. Invent some excuse for ask¬ 
ing them to raise their hands, and then arrest 
the man whose hands are black. Do you 
understand ? ” 

“ I do ! ” replied King Sligo, fervently, “ I 
do, and my warmest thanks, good Coal, are 
due to you for this — ” 

But here he stopped, for already the coal 
was quite black, and in less than ten minutes 
it was dead and cold. Then the king took it 
and rubbed it carefully over the door of the 


56 


THE USEFUL COAL. 


treasure-chamber, and laying the key of the 
door in plain sight on his dressing-table, Jie 
called his huntsmen together, and mounting 
his horse, rode away to the forest. As soon 
as he was gone, the High Cellarer, who had 
pleaded a headache when asked to join the 
hunt, crept softly to the king’s room, and to 
his surprise found the key on the table. Full 
of joy, he sought the treasure-chamber at 
once, and began filling his pockets with gold 
and jewels, which he carried to his own apart¬ 
ment, returning greedily for more. In this 
way he opened and closed the door many 
times. Suddenly, as he was stooping over 
a silver barrel containing sapphires, he heard 
the sound of a trumpet, blown once, twice, 
thrice. The wicked thief started, for it was 
the signal for the entire court to appear in¬ 
stantly before the king, and the penalty of 
disobedience was death. Hastily cramming 
a handful of sapphires into his pocket, he 
stumbled to the door, which he closed and 
locked, putting the key also in his pocket, 
as there was no time to return it. He flew 


THE USEFUL COAL. 57 

to the presence-chamber, where the lords of 
the kingdom were hastily assembling. 

The king was seated on his throne, still in 
his hunting-dress, though he had put on his 
crown over his hat, which presented a peculiar 
appearance. It was with a majestic air, how¬ 
ever, that he rose and said : — 

“Nobles, and gentlemen of my court! I 
have called you together to pray for the soul 
of my lamented grandmother, who died, as 
you may remember, several years ago. In 
token of respect, I desire you all to raise your 
hands to Heaven.” 

The astonished courtiers, one and all, lifted 
their hands high in air. The king looked, 
and, behold! the hands of the High Cellarer 
were as black as soot! The king caused him 
to be arrested and searched, and the sapphires 
in his pocket, besides the key of the treasure- 
chamber, gave ample proof of his guilt. His 
head was removed at once, and the king had 
the useful coal, set in sapphires, placed in the 
very front of his crown, where it was much 
admired and praised as a Black Diamond. 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


HE door of the Comet House was open. 



JL In the great court-yard stood hundreds 
of comets, of all sizes and shapes. Some were 
puffing and blowing, and arranging their tails, 
all ready to start; others had just come in, 
and looked shabby and forlorn after their 
long journeyings, their tails drooping discon¬ 
solately ; while others still were switched off 
on side-tracks, where the tinker and the tailor 
were attending to their wants, and setting 
them to rights. In the midst of all stood the 
Comet Master, with his hands behind him, 
holding a very long stick with a very sharp 
point. The comets knew just how the point 
of that stick felt, for they were prodded with 
it whenever they misbehaved themselves; 
accordingly, they all remained very quiet, 
while he gave his orders for the day. 

In a distant corner of the court-yard lay 
an old comet, with his tail comfortably curled 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


59 


lip around him. He was too old to go out, so 
he enjoyed himself at home in a quiet way. 
Beside him stood a very young comet, with 
a very short tail. He was quivering with ex¬ 
citement, and occasionally cast sharp impa¬ 
tient glances at the Comet Master. 

“Will he never call me?” he exclaimed, 
but in an undertone, so that only his com¬ 
panion could hear. “ He knows I am dying 
to go out, and for that very reason he pays 
no attention to me. I dare not leave my 
place, for you know what he is.” 

“ Ah ! ” said the old comet, slowly, “ if you 
had been out as often as I have, you would 
not be in such a hurry. Hot, tiresome work, 
I call it. And what does it all amount to ? ” 

“Ay, that’s the point!” exclaimed the 
young comet. “ What does it all amount 
to ? That is what I am determined to find 
out. I cannot understand your going on, 
travelling and travelling, and never finding 
out why you do it. I shall find out, you 
may be very sure, before I have finished my 
first journey.” 


60 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


“ Better not! better not! ” answered the 
old comet. “ You ’ll only get into trouble. 
Nobody knows except the Comet Master and 
the Sun. The Master would cut you up into 
inch pieces if you asked him, and the Sun — ” 

“Well, what about the Sun?” asked the 
young comet, eagerly. 

“ Short-tailed Comet No. 73 ! ” rang sudden¬ 
ly, clear and sharp, through the court-yard. 

The young comet started as if he had been 
shot, and in three bounds he stood before the 
Comet Master, who looked fixedly at him. 

“Yqu have never been out before,” said 
the Master. 

“No, sir!” replied No. 73; and he knew 
better than to add another word. 

“ You will go out now,” said the Comet 
Master. “ You will travel for thirteen weeks 
and three days, and will then return. You 
will avoid the neighborhood of the Sun, the 
Earth, and the planet Bungo. You will turn 
to the left on meeting other comets, and you 
are not allowed to speak to meteors. These 
are your orders. Go ! ” 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


61 


At the word, the comet shot out of the 
gate and off into space, his short tail bobbing 
as he went. 

• Ah ! here was something worth living for. 
No longer shut up in that tiresome court¬ 
yard, waiting for one’s tail to grow, but out 
in the free, open, boundless realm of space, 
with leave to shoot about here and there and 
everywhere — well, nearly everywhere — for 
thirteen whole weeks ! Ah, what a glorious 
prospect! How swiftly he moved! How 
well his tail looked, even though it was still 
rather short! What a fine fellow he was, 
altogether! 

For two or three weeks our comet was the 
happiest creature in all space; too happy to 
think of anything except the joy of frisking 
about. But by-and-by he began to wonder 
about things, and that is always dangerous 
for a comet. 

“I wonder, now,” he said, “why I may 
not go near the planet Bungo. I have always 
heard that he was the most interesting of all 
the planets. And the Sun ! how I should like 


62 THE NAUGHTY COMET. 

to know a little more about the Sun ! And, 
by the way, that reminds me that all this 
time I have never found out ivhy I am travel¬ 
ling. It shows how I have been enjoying 
myself, that I have forgotten it so long; but 
now I must certainly make a point of finding 
out. Hello! there comes Long-Tail No. 45. 
I mean to ask him.” 

So he turned out to the left, and waited till 
No. 45 came along. The latter was a middle- 
aged comet, very large, and with an uncom¬ 
monly long tail, — quite preposterously long, 
our little No. 73 thought, as he shook his own 
tail and tried to make as much of it as 
possible. 

“Good morning, Mr. Long-Tail!” he said 
as soon as the other was within speaking dis¬ 
tance. “ Would you be so very good as to 
tell me what you are travelling for ? ” 

“ For six months,” answered No. 45 with 
a puff and a snort. “ Started a month ago ; 
five months still to go.” 

“ Oh, I don’t mean that! ” exclaimed Short- 
Tail No. 73. “I mean why are you travelling 
at all?” 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 63 

“ Comet Master sent me ! ” replied No. 45, 
briefly. 

“ But what for ? ” persisted the little comet. 
u What is it all about ? What good does it 
do ? Why do we travel for weeks and months 
and years ? That’s what I want to find 
out.” 

“ Don’t know, I’m sure! ” said the elder, 
still more shortly. “ What’s more, don’t 
care! ” 

The little comet fairly shook with amaze¬ 
ment and indignation. “ You don’t care ! ” 
he cried. “ Is it possible ? And how long, 
may I ask, have you been travelling hither 
and thither through space, without knowing 
or caring why ? ” 

“ Long enough to learn not to ask stupid 
questions! ” answered Long-Tail No. 45. 
“ Good morning to you ! ” 

And without another word he was off, with 
his preposterously long tail spreading itself 
like a luminous fan behind him. The little 
comet looked after him for some time in 
silence. At last he said : — 


64 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


“Well, I call that simply disgusting! An 
ignorant, narrow-minded old — ” 

“ Hello, cousin! ” called a clear merry 
voice just behind him. “How goes it with 
you ? Shall we travel together ? Our roads 
seem to go in the same direction.” 

The comet turned and saw a bright and 
sparkling meteor. “I — I — must not speak 
to you! ” said No. 73, confusedly. 

“ Not speak to me ! ” exclaimed the meteor, 
laughing. “ Why, what’s the matter ? What 
have I done ? I never saw you before in my 
life” 

“N-nothing that I know of,” answered No. 
73, still more confused. 

“ Then why must n’t you speak to me ? ” 
persisted the meteor, giving a little skip and 
jump. “Eh? tell me that, will you? Why 
mustn’t you?” 

“I — don’t — know!” answered the little 
comet, slowly, for he was ashamed to say 
boldly, as he ought to have done, that it was 
against the orders of the Comet Master. 

“ Oh, gammon! ” cried the meteor, with 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


65 


another skip. “ I know! Comet Master, eh ? 
But a fine high-spirited young fellow like you 
isn’t going to be afraid of that old tyrant. 
Come along, I say! If there were any real 
reason why you should not speak to me—” 

“ That’s just what I say,” interrupted the 
comet, eagerly. “ What is the reason? Why 
don’t they tell it to me ? ” 

“ ’Cause there isn’t any!” rejoined the 
meteor. “ Come along! ” 

After a little more hesitation, the comet 
yielded, and the two frisked merrily along, 
side by side. As they went, No. 73 confided 
all his vexations to his new friend, w r ho sym¬ 
pathized warmly with him, and spoke in most 
disrespectful terms of the Comet Master. 

“ A pretty sort of person to dictate to you, 
when he has n’t the smallest sign of a tail 
himself! I would n’t submit to it! ” cried the 
meteor. “As to the other orders, some of 
them are not so bad. Of course, nobody 
would want to go near that stupid, poky 
Earth, if he could possibly help it; and the 
planet Bungo is — ah — is not a very nice 

5 


66 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


planet, I believe.” [The fact is, the planet 
Bungo contains a large reform-school for un¬ 
ruly meteors, but our friend made no mention 
of that.] “ But as for the Sun, — the bright, 
jolly, delightful Sun, — why, I am going to 
take a nearer look at him myself. Come on! 
We will go together, in spite of the Comet 
Master.” 

Again the little comet hesitated and de¬ 
murred ; but after all, he had already broken 
one rule, and why not another ? He would 
be punished in any case, and he might as 
well get all the pleasure he could. Reason¬ 
ing thus, he yielded once more to the persua¬ 
sions of the meteor, and together they shot 
through the great space-world, taking their 
way straight toward the Sun. 

When the Sun saw them coming, he smiled 
and seemed much pleased. He stirred his 
fire, and shook his shining locks, and blazed 
brighter and brighter, hotter and hotter. 
The heat seemed to have a strange effect 
on the comet, for he began to go faster and 
faster. 


TIIE NAUGHTY COMET. 


67 


“ Hold on ! ” said the meteor. “ Why are 
you hurrying so? I cannot keep up with 

you” 

“I cannot stop myself!” cried No. 73. 
“ Something is drawing me forward, faster 
and faster! ” 

On he went at a terrible rate, the meteor 
following as best he might. Several planets 
that he passed shouted to him in warning 
tones, but he could not hear what they said. 
The Sun stirred his fire again, and blazed 
brighter and brighter, hotter and hotter; and 
onward rushed the wretched little comet, 
faster and faster, faster and faster! 

“ Catch hold of my tail and stop me ! ” he 
shrieked to the meteor. “I am shrivelling, 
burning up, in this fearful heat! Stop me, 
for pity’s sake! ” 

But the meteor was already far behind, 
and had stopped short to watch his compan¬ 
ion’s headlong progress. And now, — ah, 
, me! — now the Sun opened his huge fiery 
mouth. The comet made one desperate ef¬ 
fort to stop himself, but it was in vain. An 


68 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 


awful, headlong plunge through the inter¬ 
vening space; a hissing and crackling; a 
shriek, — and the fiery jaws had closed on 
Short-Tail No. 73 forever! 

“ Dear me ! ” said the meteor. “ How very 
shocking! I quite forgot that the .Sun ate 
comets. I must be off, or I shall get an aeon 
in the Reform School for this. I am really 
very sorry, for he was a nice little comet! ” 

And away frisked the meteor, and soon 
forgot all about it. 

But in the great court-yard in front of the 
Comet House, the Master took a piece of 
chalk, and crossed out No. 73 from the list of 
short-tailed comets on the slate that hangs 
on the door. Then he called out, “No. 1 
Express, come forward! ” and the swiftest of 
all the comets stood before him, brilliant and 
beautiful, with a bewildering magnificence of 
tail. The Comet Master spoke sharply and 
decidedly, as usual, but not unkindly. 

“No. 73, Short-Tail,” he said, 44 has dis¬ 
obeyed orders, and has in consequence been 
devoured by the Sun.” 


THE NAUGHTY COMET. 69 

Here there was a great sensation among 
the comets. 

“No. 1,” continued the Master, “you will 
start immediately, and travel until you find a 
runaway meteor, with a red face and blue 
hair. You are permitted to make inquiries 
of respectable bodies, such as planets or satel¬ 
lites. When found, you will arrest him and 
take him to the planet Bungo. My compli¬ 
ments to the Meteor Keeper, and I shall be 
obliged if he will give this meteor two aeons 
in the Reform School. I trust,” he continued, 
turning to the assembled comets, “ that this 
will be a lesson to all of you ! ” 

And I believe it was. 



OGT V 1899 









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